Mark Estee is expanding his Reno culinary empire into the former downtown JC Penney building with Reno Provisions, which will open in late 2014 with more than 10,000 square feet of combined restaurant-bar-market space. The building at 100 N. Sierra St. dates back to 1956. It most recently housed an antique mall.
(Photo:
RGJ file
)

Mark Estee is expanding his Reno culinary empire into the former downtown JC Penney building.

The chef behind Campo Reno and Heritage restaurants said Tuesday that the project, Reno Provisions, will open in late 2014 with more than 10,000 square feet of combined restaurant-bar-market space.

The building at 100 N. Sierra St. dates back to 1956. It most recently housed an antique mall.

Other parts of the structure are available for lease, said Mitch Moody of Moody-Weiske contractors in Reno. His firm is tuning up the space for Estee's project and retrofitting other parts of the building for its owner, Union Property Capital of San Francisco.

Moody's firm will install additional ground-floor windows for Reno Provisions and will be adding windows and amenities to other parts of the building.

Reno Provisions will have a market-cafe-retail-cooking demo area on the building's first floor. In the basement, workers have begun constructing what will be a butcher shop, bake shop and production area.

Estee said he's ready to grow his restaurant group in Reno.

"There's so many great, talented chefs and servers and managers here," he said. "We're excited to be here and doing our thing."

The new business will employ around 40 people, Estee said. He estimates the project will cost $1.6 million overall.

The retail part of Reno Provisions will add some food-shopping options for downtown condo residents. Currently, the only grocer downtown is the Great Basin Community Food Co-op on Court Street.

The owner of the long-closed Woolworth building at 1st and North Virginia streets said last month he still has plans for a grocery store there.

Mayfair, the last full-service grocery store in downtown Reno, closed in the early 1990s.

Mark Estee, the chef behind Campo Reno and Heritage restaurants, plans to open a new market/café/retail food business, Reno Provisions, in the former JC Penney building, seen in the background, in downtown Reno.
(Photo:
Tim Dunn/RGJ
)